Population: Nassarawa
State had a tot. t. population of 1,287,876 as at the 1991 head counts
which was projected to 1,494,190 by 1996. 1999, the estimated population
of the state is 1,501,387.
Rural Settlements:
Rural settlement pattern of Nassarawa state is largely influenced by
the prevailing economic activities and, to some extent, historical and
physiographic factors, Historically, Nassarawa constitutes part of the
Middle Belt zone of Nigeria which is known to have been depleted of its
human population during the period of the slave trade, although
the
exact degree of the impact of this historical event is not known.
The
majority of the rural people are engaged agriculture and are known to
be sparsely settled ire the countryside. The current average populate
nic density is about fiftyfour persons per sq. ki nly Individual
farmsteads, particularly towards or southern parts of the state, are
highly dispers30 with population densities ranging from fifteen of
twentyfive persons per sq. km. More nuclear rural settlements are found
towards the north, local government areas of the state where,
countryside is much more hilly and not too productive for agriculture.
Hill
top settlements were common in the northern parts of the state a now
being relocated by the roadsides at the foot or the hills. It is common
to find isolated compounds fence with corn stalks. In some cases, houses
are built very closely and the spaces between them closed up so as to
provide the needed security as well as protection from harsh weather
conditions. Most rural dwellings are built of mud and are in the form of
round huts with thatched grass roofs.
Urban Settlements:
Urbanisation
in this area started with the advent of colonial administration. The
need to establish provincial and Native Authority headquarters in each
of the Provinces and Divisions gave rise to the beginning of most of
what we know today as urban centres in Nassarawa State. The 1976 Local
Government Reforms further enhanced this situation and today we have
Lafia, the State Capital, Keffi and Akwanga as the biggest settlements.
Other nucleated settle ments include Wamba, Nassarawa, Nassarawa Eggon,
Kaderko, Awe, Keana, Gudi and Karu.
In
fact all local government headquarters are officially designated urban
areas in line with the urban policy in the country. In addition, the
state has also includ ed Gudi, Kaderko, Agyaragu and Assakyo as urban
areas apart from local government headquarters. Urban settlements in the
state can be cate gorised according to their size. First, we have those
between 50,000 to 75,000 people. These include Lafia and Keffi, while
the second category which includes Nassarawa, Akwanga, Nassarawa Eggon
and Karu range between 25,000 to 40,000 people.
The
rest of the designated urban centres fall under the 25,000 mark.
Because of its status as the state capital Lafia is now growing quite
fast. The same applies to Karu and Keffi which are close to Abuja (the
Federal Capital) and Akwanga to some extent. Karu and Keffi play the
role of 'new towns,' taking off some of the pressure on Abuja in terms
of accommodation and shops for building materials.
Due
to lack of finances, the development and plan ning of these centres is
not coming up as expected and the result is the increase in the number
of environmental problems that are commonly associated with urban growth
in most Third World cities. These include the problems of refuse
management, pollution, drainaqe and erosion control.